Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac - Storage

This is a discussion on Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac - Storage ; Hello,
I was wondering if it was possible to replace the hard drive in a summer
2001 (blue) iMac? It's the G3 500mhz model, the last one before the new LCD
iMacs. I would like to have a hard drive ...

Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

Hello,

I was wondering if it was possible to replace the hard drive in a summer
2001 (blue) iMac? It's the G3 500mhz model, the last one before the new LCD
iMacs. I would like to have a hard drive with more capacity. If it is
possible, are there any instructions on how to do this on the web
somewhere?

Regards,
Diego

Re: Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

Diego Barros writes:
>
> I was wondering if it was possible to replace the hard drive in a
> summer 2001 (blue) iMac? It's the G3 500mhz model, the last one
> before the new LCD iMacs. I would like to have a hard drive with
> more capacity. If it is possible, are there any instructions on how
> to do this on the web somewhere?

The internal hard drive is a standard IDE drive (ATA/66 for your
model). You should be able to install any drive up to 137GB in
size. Bigger drives may not be bootable because your ROMs don't have
support for 48-bit LBA mode.

Replacing the internal drive isn't difficult, but it's not for the
faint of heart. You have to remove several pieces of the iMac in
order to expose and remove the CD/HD carrier - then you can replace
the drive and put everything back together.

If this is too much work for you and you don't want to have a service
tech do it for you, then you should look into getting an external
FireWire drive. In addition to being really easy to install and
setup, it will be portable and won't have the 137GB limit that an IDE
drive will.

-- David

Re: Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

In article , David C. wrote:
> If this is too much work for you and you don't want to have a service
> tech do it for you, then you should look into getting an external
> FireWire drive. In addition to being really easy to install and
> setup, it will be portable and won't have the 137GB limit that an IDE
> drive will.

unless the firewire bridge in the enclosure doesn't support lba48. a
number of them, particularly the cheaper cases, do not.

Re: Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

>> If this is too much work for you and you don't want to have a
>> service tech do it for you, then you should look into getting an
>> external FireWire drive. In addition to being really easy to
>> install and setup, it will be portable and won't have the 137GB
>> limit that an IDE drive will.
>
> unless the firewire bridge in the enclosure doesn't support lba48. a
> number of them, particularly the cheaper cases, do not.

If you buy your own case and assemble it yourself, yeah, you have to
be careful about that.

If you just buy an external drive, you can be sure that the bridge in
the case will support the drive inside.

-- David

Re: Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

In article , David C. wrote:
> >> If this is too much work for you and you don't want to have a
> >> service tech do it for you, then you should look into getting an
> >> external FireWire drive. In addition to being really easy to
> >> install and setup, it will be portable and won't have the 137GB
> >> limit that an IDE drive will.
> >
> > unless the firewire bridge in the enclosure doesn't support lba48. a
> > number of them, particularly the cheaper cases, do not.
>
> If you buy your own case and assemble it yourself, yeah, you have to
> be careful about that.
>
> If you just buy an external drive, you can be sure that the bridge in
> the case will support the drive inside.

true. i wasn't thinking of complete firewire drives since they are
usually much more expensive than buying a mechanism and putting it in
an enclosure. plus, it sounded like the original poster already had the
mechanism.

Re: Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

<< The internal hard drive is a standard IDE drive (ATA/66 for your
model). You should be able to install any drive up to 137GB in
size. Bigger drives may not be bootable because your ROMs don't have
support for 48-bit LBA mode. >>

A bigger drive will indeed work, it simply won't show any more than 137gb of
capacity.

Re: Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

Diego Barros wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I was wondering if it was possible to replace the hard drive in a summer
> 2001 (blue) iMac? It's the G3 500mhz model, the last one before the new LCD
> iMacs. I would like to have a hard drive with more capacity. If it is
> possible, are there any instructions on how to do this on the web
> somewhere?
>
> Regards,
> Diego

I replaced the drive on a slot-loading CRT iMac, 350 mHz model. Put a 40
GB drive in it. Works fine Bought the drive from MacConnection, with the
assurance it would work in the iMac.

Found a web site that gave instructions how to do it. Unfortunately I
seem to have lost the address.

Basically, it involves turning the machine upside down, removing the
bottom of the case, and removing the perforated metal emf shield. Then
you can get at the drive and remove and replace it.

All this involves removing a number of screws. There is a chace of
dropping the screws down inside the upturned body of the computer, so
care is required. This applies on removal and installation of the
screws. There is also of course the chance of losing the screws, so as
with any such process you should do it in a place with adequate space
and put the removed screws in some sort of container so they don't get lost.

You also need to observe the usual precaution of grounding yourself to a
metal part of the case before touching any internal components.

And of course the computer has to be unplugged from the wall while you
are doing this.

There was a caution not to use a drive over 5400 rpm, as faster drives
could cause overheat problems in that model machine.

Bill

Address intentionally altered to avoid spam.

Re: Replace hard drive on 2001 summer iMac

Hi all,

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my question about changing
the internal hard drive of the 2001 slot-loading iMac. I appreciate it.